Kandor
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This article deals with the comic book city of Kandor. For the Wheel of Time country by the same name, see Kandor (Wheel of Time).
Kandor is the name of the former capital city of the fictional planet Krypton in the DC Universe. It is best known for being stolen and miniaturized by the supervillain Brainiac. Upon its recovery by Superman, it has been traditionally kept and monitored in the Fortress of Solitude.
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[edit] History
[edit] Silver Age Version
Kandor was once the capital of Krypton until it was shrunken and stolen by the supervillain, Brainiac. Ironically, it also meant that the villain inadvertently spared the city from being lost when Krypton exploded. Superman discovered the city in Brainiac's possession when the android came to Earth to harvest more cities (Action Comics #242, Jul 1958) and rescued it, keeping it in his Fortress of Solitude while looking for a way to restore it to full size. In return, the Kandorians provided the superhero with a place where he was an honoured guest, various professionals to assist him when asked and even occasionally assisted him in the outside with the Superman Emergency Squad.
Eventually (Superman #338, Aug 1979), Superman was able to restore the population to normal size and they settled on another planet that revolved around a red sun. The Kandorians decided to name their new homeworld Rokyn, which is the Kryptonian word for "gift from God" (Rokyn had first been revealed as existing in the 30th century in Adventure Comics #356, May 1967). Superman constructed a replica of the bottle-sized city to keep as a memento but was surprised when thousands of tiny aliens, fleeing the destruction of their home planet, moved into it (Superman #371, Aug 1982). When told the city's original name was Kandor, the aliens decided to call it that as well.
[edit] Earth-2 version
In Showcase #97, Kara Zor-L (also known as Power Girl) was revealed to have been born in Kandor, as shown in one of her dreams. This version of Kandor was never shrunken, and thus, the city was destroyed along with Krypton. However, a virtual reality copy of Kandor was developed by Kara's father Zor-L, and placed within the symbioship he had constructed. This ship transported Kara during a several decades long journey, in which she experienced approximately twenty years of life within this holographic world. This version of Kandor provided duplicates of Kara's parents and various non-descript Kryptonians whom she interacted with throughout various stages of her life. Upon her arrival on Earth, she was removed from this device, however it had obtained sentience and sought to reclaim her. Kara was reimmersed within Kandorian society for a brief period of real time, although several years of virtual time elapsed wherein Kara married and had a child. She was soon freed with the assistance of a friend, at which point she proceeded to destroy the ship.
[edit] Modern Kandor(s)
[edit] Post-Man of Steel/Crisis on Infinite Earths
The Post-Crisis version of the bottle city has a somewhat different history, having been created by an alien wizard named Tolos, who trapped representatives of various races (including Valor's uncle) within, in order to possess their bodies. This city is not literally shrunken, but exists in an extra-dimensional space, occasionally connected to the Phantom Zone. Superman has not, as yet, managed to restore it.
[edit] Post-Superman: Birthright
The Superman: Birthright miniseries reinstated several Silver Age elements of Superman, one of which is Kandor. After the mini-series was completed, its place in canon was shown in Superman (Vol. 2) #200. Superman was thrown out of time and he saw both versions of his origin: Man of Steel and Birthright. He decided to return to the Birthright timeline and found himself in Kandor with a case of amnesia. After his adventure in Kandor he got his memory back and he discovered/remembered the new history:
- The city had been shrunk and was kept in the Fortress of Solitude.
- When he is shrunk, in Kandor, he again has no more powers in the Red Sun Krypton-like environment.
- The city is once again from Krypton (but still populated by non-Kryptonian aliens).
- The citizens also recall Brainiac stealing their city from Krypton, and not the wizard Tolos.
- It was not explained how Tolos got a hold of the "bottled city" from Brainiac. It was not explained if that part of history was also rewritten.
- Apparently, a hundred years have passed in the city (while the world outside has aged normally). Because of this, Superman (or the ideal of him) had grown to god-like status and he was worshipped in Kandor.
[edit] One Year Later
Kandor has returned, after the 2005-2006 miniseries Infinite Crisis with Power Girl and Supergirl temporarily taking the positions of Kryptonian vigilantes Nightwing and Flamebird. A full understanding of the nature of the Post-Infinite Crisis world of DC Comics has not yet been revealed, but it appears that many aspects of Silver Age continuity have been restored to the storyline, including the Brainiac involvement in the reduction of the city, and its future enlargement and rebuilding as a Kryptonian planet [1].
The city of Kandor is now apparently ruled by Ultraman, brainwashed by Saturn Queen into a speciesist despot, claiming the Kal-El identity for himself, and center of a religion built around himself. Claims of another Kryptonian city, Argo City, were also brought to light when Supergirl suggested that the city still existed. After exposing Saturn Queen, Supergirl and Power Girl somehow returned to Earth. The final fate of Kandor still unrevealed, Power Girl blamed Kara for having somehow compromised their mission in exchange for information about Argo City.
Sometime between the events between One Year Later and the 31st century of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Kandor was enlarged and put on the new version of Rokyn, an isolationist world that discourages contacts with aliens and strangers.
[edit] Superman: Red Son
In the alternate history story Superman: Red Son, Superman lands as an infant in Ukraine and becomes a Soviet citizen. Instead of Kandor, Brainiac bottles Stalingrad. Superman's failure to restore its size troubles him greatly.
[edit] Other media
- The most significant appearance outside of comics is in an episode of Super Friends. When an undersea villain plots to sink various continents to rule over them while Superman and Wonder Woman were off planet, the remaining Super Friends request the aid of the Kandorians who help stop the evil scheme.
[edit] Cultural references
- The band The Dukes of Stratosphear, an alter ego for XTC, makes reference to Kandor in a song called "Brainiac's Daughter" on their 1987 album Psonic Psunspot: "So I reach to hold her frozen hand in flight, as we alight in the bottle city of Kandor."
- In a I Dream of Jeannie parody in Issue #24 of Futurama Comics, The bottle city of Kandor is seen while Leela (Jeannie) looks for a new bottle to live in. Nightwing and Flamebird are also seen stopping a bank robbery.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Supermanica: Kandor Supermanica entry on the Pre-Crisis Kandor
- Supermanica Category: Kandorians Supermanica Category page with links to entries on Pre-Crisis citizens of Kandor
- Superman in Kandor History of Superman in Kandor
